Time to say good bye...

Well, it is Friday again thank heavens and it's gonna be another busy one. I have a little sad news to share today also. I have decided I need (not want) to step down from Stamping Bella. As a lot of my regular followers know, my dad has had multiple health issues over the past year and we have just gone thru another problem and my mojo has been truly lacking. I need to be able to be there more for him and my mom and so I needed to cut back somewhere. Hopefully my mojo comes back but at least for now I can keep up with my commitments without feeling my family is suffering due to my hobby. I do have some exciting news though so keep reading!

Our challenge this week at Stamping Bellas was an inspiration photo and here is my interpretation.

I  have used Ramona in her Balloon and am pretty pleased with my card. It took me forever to color that balloon though! I kept getting blue in the polka dots arrgh! I have used a little bit of gray prisma pencil on some of the edges for a little extra depth, will def do that more often. Ok, next week our challenge is a sketch and you have two ideas to choose from.

And my last bit of news is a little sad but happy too. My older kitty died a couple of weeks ago which was sad but he had been ill since Thanksgiving so we were prepared. We weren't going to get another cat so soon but I feel my other cat, Lucy, is lonely by herself. So tomorrrow we are bringing Wimbly home from a local foster home and hope they get along. Cross your fingers for me! He is only about a year old and has lived with a single guy most of that time so hopefully he adjusts to our family without any major problems. Ok, have a great weekend everyone!

A simple thank you

Good evening everyone! I have had this card ready for a few days but not the time to post it. I am really pleased with it though so hope you enjoy it. I have used Big Shoes by Mo Manning for Stamping Bella and made it into a thank you card for my inlaws. They have always treated us really well and I just wanted to let them know I appreciate it.

The sentiment is from lotv and the flowers are WOC. I added some stickles to the center of the daisy cause you know me, gotta have some sparkle somewhere! Don't forget about our inspiration challenge this week, you still have time to enter. Just email your project to Emily by Thursday evening.

Asking the impossible...

Ok, so it is time for another Kraftin Kimmie challenge and this week our hostess is my buddy Sheri but she is asking us to do something next to impossible. Choose our favorite stamp! That is like picking your favorite child! Anyways, I love them all so I chose one that suits my mood now, a bright bring on spring card and image!

This is from the Pretty Little Pixies release by Emilie Goulet and I think she is adorable. Papers are Prima and I have used one of the Fairy Trinkets to go along with her. Colored with copics and a touch of pencil plus some stickles to outline my image. My corner die and the flowers are made with dies by Cheery Lynn and the flowers are made of vellum with a resin flower in the center. Ok, your turn to play along and if you win, you will get the image Sheri used on her card this week!

I am entering my card into the following challenges:
Cheery Lynn Designs   Think Spring
Cupcake Craft Challenges   mythical creatures

Sketch challenge

Well, today is Friday and I am very thankful for it! I have had a heck of a week and glad to be moving forward. Todays card is for the sketch challenge at Stamping Bella and here is my take on it.

I have used Lulu with cupcakes and have made an A2 card which I rarely do but since this is a smaller image it worked well. Papers are MME "In Bloom" which I hadn't seen before but found them at my local Michaels. I always color in Lulu's black hair with a black copic to make it rich and did the same with her dress. Ok, next week we have an inspiration photo which you can see below.

An Uptown Girl

Hello everyone! How is your week so far? Still no warm weather here in my area but it has to come at some point right? I wanted to point out that am switching over from Google Reader to bloglovin due to the upcoming closure of Google Reader. It was pretty simple and my "follow" button is in mysidebar if you would like to continue to follow me.

Anyways, I have a Stamping Bella card to show you today using one of the Uptown Girls, this is Audrey loves makeup. Emily seems to be having a slight problem with the website as I can't get it to open on my computer so sorry I can't share the link but the Uptown girls all have their own little stamp section so she should be easy to find.

I have kept the card simple and went with some pastel colors for spring. She is colored with copics this time and just a touch of pencil on her dress which I paper pieced. Okay, make sure to come back tomorrow for the sketch challenge at Stamping Bellas. You still have time to email your card to Emily to play along!

Well welcome back!! It’s Krafty RELEASE Day at KRAFTIN' KIMMIE STAMPS!! And we’re celebrating with a KRAFTY HOP!!

Over the last few days in our Krafty Peeks, we have shared lots of AMAZING new stamps from all our artists! We’ve got something for everyone!! We've got TWO sweet new sets with the kiddos from Cheryl Alger........DOWN ON THE FARM and FAIRY FRIENDS!! We also have a fun new set from Emilie Goulet called PRETTY LITTLE PIXIES! And of course we have an amazing new set of SIX awesome stamps in our 

SASSY SPRITES collection with a coordinating FABULOUS FRAMES set and they are simply A-mazing! OH and don’t forget the TWO incredible new sets of TRINKETS ...... SPRING TRINKETS and FAIRY TRINKETS!!

 You will get to see most of the new images today as you sit back and enjoy our FEBRUARY Krafty Hop! As you hop from blog to blog, be sure to leave a comment at each and every stop because some lucky stampers will win packages of these incredible stamps from the new release!! And when you’re done hoppin’, be sure to head over to the Kraftin’Kimmie shop, because ALL the new images are NOW available! 

And of course, as always, we have our Gimme Kimmies Kits available for those of you who ‘need it all’!! The stamps are grouped together by artist and are available at a discount, but only for a limited time!!**Who likes FREE? Well, the FIRST 30 orders of $30 or more before shipping and taxes, will receive a FREE package of 20 yards of assorted TWINE! Just an extra special gift for our extra special customers!!! 

Now let's get hoppin' and shoppin'!!

My card today features the elegant Isadora by Annie Rodrigue. This has to be one of my favorite releases from her, I absolutely love these fairies, so elegant but with a touch of fantasy to them.

My papers are by Kaisercraft called "These Days" and I have used some of the new frantage embossing powder out there on the corner diecut and around the edges of my image. It is a very pretty look, almost looks thick and enameled. 

Check out the list of Krafty Girls and Guests below who each have a project to share with you using all sorts of the NEW March release stamps that are NOW AVAILABLE!  Be sure to leave some love at every stop because two lucky stampers will WIN a package of stamps from this release !  Happy hoppin'!  And happy shoppin'!!

1.	Jane (our Krafty Guest)	9.	Deborah (our Krafty Guest)	17.	Elaine Hughes
2.	Kim O'Connell	10.	Jessie Rone	18.	Sharon Caudle
3.	Jenny Peterson	11.	Krista Van Tol	19.	Melanie Holtz
4.	Cheryl Valadez	12.	Sheri Willshire	20.	Peggy Marsh
5.	Angie Baker	13.	Diana Pickering	21.	Alyce Keegan
6.	Amanda Reed	14.	Kerry Johnson	22.	Tracy Valure (our Krafty Guest)
7.	Alice Wertz	15.	Sandie Dunne	23.	Kim Reid
8.	Cheryl Alger	16.	Karen (our Krafty Guest)	24.	Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog

(Linkup closed)

"Its a Boy"!

Thank heavens that title doesn't apply to me! Kids are adorable but at my age, having a baby right now would NOT be a good thing! Anyways, our challenge this week at Stamping Bella's is to make a card to go with the "Its a Boy" theme so here is my take.

I have used Tolerance, mostly cause there is a kitty on the image.

Just a simple design since it is a boy card, the little pawprint die is from MFT's. Colored with copics and a little bit of chalk pencil to deepen the shadows. Ok, next week we are back to a sketch. Here it so make sure you play along for your chance to win some bella bucks!!

Fairy Friends!

Happy Friday woot woot! I am glad it is the weekend but a busy one still. I have a bit of stuff going on so I won't be joining in at Kraftin Kimmies tomorrow but I am tellin' ya, the images we have tomorrow are gonna blow you away so make sure you check back to see the other girls.

Today we are showcasing the new images by Cheryl Alger called Fairy Friends.

I was in a bright orange mood when I made this, again hoping for spring to hurry up I think. The set comes with several sentiments and I used a heart doily for a little bit of frill. Flowers are WOC and the little resin flowers are from ebay.

Okay, here are the other girls participating today so make sure you hop around and comment for your chance to win some free images!

Thanks for hopping around with us today!  Below is the list of Krafty Girls and Guests who have a project to share with you featuring the new Down on the Farm and Fairy Friends sets....or both!!  Leave a little love at every stop to qualify for a chance to win some blog candy!  There will be TWO lucky stampers who each WIN a NEW SET!!

1.	Jenny Peterson	8.	Peggy Marsh	15.	Alyce Keegan
2.	Angie Baker	9.	Kerry Johnson	16.	Sheri Willshire
3.	Amanda Reed	10.	Jane (our Krafty Guest)	17.	Karen (our Krafty Guest)
4.	Alice Wertz	11.	Deborah (our Krafty Guest)	18.	Tracy Valure (our Krafty Guest)
5.	Sharon Caudle	12.	Krista Ewer	19.	Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog
6.	Jessie Rone	13.	Cheryl Valadez
7.	Sandie Dunne	14.	Kim O'Connell

(Linkup closed)

Oozak guest designer

Hello everyone! I am excited today because I played with the challenge over at the Oozak challenge blog and was asked to be the guest designer for March! I tell ya, that just really makes you feel good to be asked to guest design, like all of your hard work does get noticed!

Our challenge this month is Anything Goes with "Spring Colors". I have used a La La Land Crafts image, this is Sweetheart Marci. Is she not cute or what?

Papers are older by October Afternoon but I still love the bright colors, flowers are hydrangea blossoms by Prima with a little jewel in the center. She is colored with copics and some stickles around the edge of the sentiment cause I can't seem to make a card without stickles. Just doesn't happen. Ok, make sure you play along for not only your chance to win a great prize but the chance to be the guest designer like me!

Pretty Little Pixies!

Hey everyone! Have you enjoyed our Trinkets so far? Well today we are showcasing some cute images by Emilie Rodrigue. And of course if you comment on all the girls blogs you will be in the running to win some free images.

Here is my card.

I am so darn happy with this card! Not only do I love the image and the butterfly Trinket (available Saturday night after our facebook get together) but these bright summery colors make me a happy camper. I colored her with copics with a little dark yellow prisma pencil to shade her outfit a bit more. Ok, here are the links to the other girls playing along today.

Thanks for hopping around with us today!  Below is the list of Krafty Girls and Guests who have a project to share with you featuring the new Pretty Little Pixies or Fairy Trinkets sets....or both!!  Leave a little love at every stop to qualify for a chance to win some blog candy!  There will be TWO lucky stampers who each WIN a NEW SET!!

1.	Jessie Rone	7.	Jenny Peterson	13.	Sheri Willshire
2.	Kerry Johnson	8.	Kim O'Connell	14.	Karen (our Krafty Guest)
3.	Angie Baker	9.	Melanie Holtz	15.	Deborah (our Krafty Guest)
4.	Tracy Valure (our Krafty Guest)	10.	Sandie Dunne	16.	Alice Wertz
5.	Jane (our Krafty Guest)	11.	Cheryl Valadez	17.	Sharon Caudle
6.	Amanda Reed	12.	Krista Ewer	18.	Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog

(Linkup closed)

It's time for Kraftin' Kimmie's MARCH 2013 RELEASE!!!!!

We are kicking off the *New* MARCH Kraftin’ Kimmie Stamps previews today and we're excited that this month we have TWO sets of fabulous TRINKETS!! We'll share one set today by itself and one set tomorrow in combo with some new images!! Today we’d like to introduce you to a beautiful new set of ….SPRING TRINKETS!!

These circular sentiment stamps have been created and designed by the totally talented Krafty Girl, Nicole Aspinall!! They are made especially to fit in your 1 3/8ths and 1 ¾ inch punches, for quick and easy cutting!!! This month we are releasing the SPRING Trinkets set which includes EIGHT trinkets in each set with four of each size and they come as both positive and negative images, so you can use your black or brown ink with the positive stamps and use your coloured inks with the negative ones!! You will get the set as a completely unmounted full sheet of deeply etched grey rubber. They're just PERFECT for all your springy creations!!!

Today we have awesome inspiration from the Krafty Girls and Guests so hop around....and be sure to comment at each and every stop because one lucky stamper is going to WIN the new SPRING TRINKETS set!!! {All of this week's winners will be announced at the online party on Saturday night!}

OH YES!! We are having another amazing ONLINE RELEASE PARTY!!! It's happening this SATURDAY at our Facebook fan page....and you can get ALL the details HERE!!! All the new stamps we're sharing over the next few days will be released on SATURDAY NIGHT!

And here is my card showcasing one of the new trinkets...

Just some simple coloring and a big gingham bow to make sure the Trinket is the focus point. These will be great for spring, Easter and Mothers Day! Ok, make sure to comment on everyones blog for your chance to win your own set!

Thanks for hopping around with us today!  Below is the list of Krafty Girls who have a project to share with you featuring the new Spring Trinkets set!   Leave a little love at every stop to qualify for a chance to win some blog candy!  One lucky stamper will WIN this NEW SET!!

1.	Melanie Holtz	5.	Kerry Johnson	9.	Jessie Rone
2.	Amanda Reed	6.	Jane (our Krafty Guest)	10.	Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog
3.	Deborah (our Krafty Guest)	7.	Kim O'Connell
4.	Angie Baker	8.	Karen (our Krafty Guest)

(Linkup closed)

A little birdie and an apology...

Hello everyone! I hope spring is trying to come to your neck of the woods, wherever that might be. We has some lovely weather over the weekend but back to cool, rainy and gray today, sigh. But I know spring will be here soon, just a little more patience on my part.

Anyways, first off, I think I owe some people an apology. I rarely use my gmail account and was able to have them all forwarded to my hotmail account. Well, awhile ago I stopped getting them altogether and honestly didn't pay much attention to it. So yesterday when I thought I should track it down cause I know my blog candy winners might be contacting me I found I had over 1000 emails and some of them were from you guys! I tried to go thru and respond to all the questions I had so I hope I got everyone. Again, my bad! (really, really bad!)

Okay, so here is my card for today. This is A little birdie told me by Jane Davenport.

I have added some deeper shading to the side of the image with a chalk pencil and tried to keep this quite simple. The butterflies are Heidi Swapp that I sprayed with some glimmer mist. And that pretty rose background paper is a newer release from Nitwit collections called Always and Forever. I am not a big fan of digi papers but I am a sucker for floral papers and I have to say I was really pleased with this collection when I printed some out. Okay, make sure you play along with our "Its a Boy" contest this week at Stamping Bella for your chance to win some bella bucks! And tomorrow starts the new Kraftin Kimmie release so you pop by for that too as Kimmie will be giving away some new stamps to a lucky commenter. All kinds of stuff up for grabs!

Blog candy winners!

Hey everyone! I had my husband draw winning numbers this morning for my blog candy and he picked the numbers "8" and "19" so the two lucky winners are

                                                Shone Erlenborn
                                                           and
                                                 NanaConnie

Congrats guys! If you email me with your addresses I will mail out your candy this week! And thanks to everyone who commented, you guys really do make the time and effort worthwhile and I appreciate and read every comment I get. Enjoy your day!

CAS Aaack!

Okay, the awesome and totally crazy Kim is our hostess this week and her challenge is CAS. Not my strong point. I love some of the CAS cards I see but I am always wanting to add just enough that it wouldn't be considered CAS, unless you compare it to some others I guess!

This is Lulu from the Springtime Lulu set. I am so ready for spring and being able to plant some flowers so this cutie called my name.

I layered my dp with some mint green cardstock, stamped my sentiment in the corner and slapped on a flower tada! Oh, I did add some stickles around the edges of the image, I don't believe in a card without some stickles, against the rules I believe. Okay, this should be a quick card for everyone so let's see whatcha got!

Blog candy!

Ok, so I have been blogging a couple of years now and consider myself extremely blessed. Not only have I been on some wonderful teams, and am currently on two of the ones I always dreamed of being associated with, but some of my closest friends I have met thru cardmaking and blogging. I have friends from all over the world and my bucket list includes meeting some of them too! So in appreciation for all the support you guys give me, I have a couple of small candies to give away. Just  some extra stuff I had, stamps I bought two of (we've all done that right?) and perhaps a little extra stuff that I didn't put in the photos and one of my cards. My candy is only for people that already follow my blog as I don't want it to go to people who follow me just for candy then leave. I appreciate my ongoing followers and this is for you guys.

All I want you to do is pop in and say Hi! and leave me a friendly comment. You are welcome to say what you would like me to change, do more of, less of etc etc. You will have thru Saturday the 9th at midnite est and then I will draw two winners and announce them on Sunday. Good luck and thanks for visiting me!

Sketch time at Stamping Bellas!

TGIF! This has been an extremely busy week for me at work and I am very thankful it is almost the weekend. At least the week goes by quickly when you are busy right? This week at Stamping Bella's our challenge was my fav, a sketch. And I have used two little cuties, this is Millie and Milo, are they not cute or what?

Again, papers from that never ending stack and my border is black cardstock and my new fiskars punch. I have a feeling you will be seeing a lot of it! I have colored them with copics and a little chalk ink for some depth. Glossy accents on the balloon of course and some pearl hearts. Okay, are you sitting down? Next weeks challenge is....."Its a boy"  Aaaack! I don't DO boy cards, like evah! But if I can do it, you can do it, I have faith in both of us. Enjoy your weekend!

Guest designer spot!

Woohoo! Lookee at me! Guess who I am guest designing for next month? Whimsy Stamps and boy oh boy am I excited! I get giddy with excitement each month waiting for their newest release and now I get to be part of it! Yay me!

Garden time!

Good morning and a happy Tuesday to all my blogging buddies! Todays post is for Stamping Bella and I have used one of my fav images in an attempt to hurry spring along its way. This is Sadie by Mo Manning.

She is colored with copics and a little shading with a chalk pencil. I have added a flourish by Cheery Lynn designs and my flowers are also Cheery Lynn dies that I used to cut out vellum flowers and stacked them then added liquid pearls inside. Ok, don't forget to come back Friday to check out the sketch challenge cards and you still have time to enter yourself!

Spring color challenge

If you are here for the Sugar Nellie blog hop it is just a little further down, thanks!

Woohoo it is Saturday! And today our challenge at Kraftin Kimmie's is to use Spring colors in your card and our hostess is the awesome Pam. She always uses bright colors and I love it! My card uses the latest release by Cherly Alger and I have used Lexi with her bunny. This was a request from a friend for a Valentine for her granddaughter.

I have added a butterfly border by MS that I clipped to make it bend and some liquid pearls to the bodies of them. She is colored with copics with prisma pencils for the blue shading around the image and some stickles to the edge of the image. Gotta make sure the little girl loves bling even at an early age! Ok, make sure you play along and use a Kraftin Kimmie image to qualify to win!

Sugar Nellie release

Hey everyone! Are you as excited as I am for the new Sugar Nellie "Bags of Fashion" release today? I have to say, I am so pleased to be guest designing for this team and what a great bunch of gals too! If you are following along with the hop you should have arrived here from Lisa.

My card today features the lovely Chelsea, wish I had a skirt like this, so pretty!

I used black cardstock to mat everything for a little extra pop, even a black flourish! She is colored with copics and some chalk pencil for a little extra shading. Alright, next person in the blog hop is Vicky and all of the images are available now at Funky Kits and if you buy all four there will be a special price for you, happy shopping!

It's a Banner Day!

TGIF! And today I am showing you another new release by Diane Duda for Stamping Bella. And our challenge this week was to use a banner on your card.

I am practicing my clouds and am pretty pleased with these ones. I followed the youtube video from my friend Alyce, it is one of the best I have seen and she has several others too. Again, I have tried to keep the colors nice and soft as I feel they suit the image really well. Ok, make sure to play along next week with our sketch challenge for you chance to win some bella bucks to put towards getting some new rubbah! Here is the sketch for next week. Oh, and a little extra something from Emily, Any Order orders over 55.00 will receive a surprise KETTO goodie bag (stamps will be randomly chosen) the value of the goodie bag will be approximately 30.00!!